Brunch Places In Jakarta

The brunch scene in Jakarta has been growing rapidly and it almost feels like it's trending and part of the current lifestyle and I noticed the pretty significant transition in the last one year, before that, I didn't think that most Jakartans are big brunch people, first, they don't find it useful and necessary, second, they don't find it affordable enough (where in fact there are tons of nice places to have brunch without having you feeling ripped-off!), third, brunch is confusing! I personally am not a big brunch person and still personally couldn't really consider brunch as brunch, it's just sometimes "meal after breakfast" or "early lunch", but whatever that is, I enjoyed most of the so-called brunch!

But you can take those reasons as my personal POV but I bloody represent Jakarta!!!!!!! Just kidding!

My ideal brunch is probably western comfort food, could be sandwich, burger, pasta and to be frank, I don't see myself having Indonesian food for brunch, Indonesian food's more like all-day dining, I could have it anytime anywhere! and don't bother saying that I am so westernized and I honestly don't care OK!

It's probably those Instagram worthy, top-shot food pictures that make the brunch places in Jakarta to be growing or most existing restaurants added the brunch menu on their list and enough yakking, enjoy my list of the recommended brunch places in Jakarta and here's based on my personal preference so don't bother commenting if you don't agree. To prevent this post from getting any longer and heavier, also for more interior pics, please click on the names as they're the links to the whole post :). Flashback to the old reviews, they were pretty embarassing -.-".

If you're looking for a fancy place to have your pretty brunch, then Altitude is the place you might want to consider. I personally love the overall ambiance and the decent range of food that Altitude offered, especially GAIA Ristorante since I love having Italian food for brunch, but if you feel like having Japanese food for brunch then Enmaru is just the perfect place while Salt Grill's more like western fusion. Some of my recommendations from GAIA are their Arabiata Pasta or Gnocchi, or if you want something that's more fulfilling, then their steaks are also not bad, make sure you have the potato gratin or mashed potato side, they seriously have one of the best mashed potato creations among restaurants in Jakarta.

Antipodean
Kemang Hero Complex
Jl. Kemang Selatan 1
Jakarta Selatan
021 - 719 2364
Opening Hours: 8 AM - 8 PM
Price Range: IDR 20k - IDR 65k------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antipodean is a place where you could have affordable brunch with decent quality, venue wise, it might not be spacious (more like petite), and ultra glam but the atmosphere it offers is homey, humble and proper, meaning it's a place where you go because you want to eat. Antipodean is quite famous for their healthy brunch inspired by the Australian home cooked meals, try their Big Breakfast.

Authentique
Jl. Kemang Selatan 1 No. 20A
Kemang, Jakarta Selatan
021 - 718 0011
Opening Days: Monday - Sunday, 7.30 AM - 6 PM
Price Range: IDR 15k - IDR 70k------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The venue might be petite, but don't play around with Authentique as it's one of the serious patisseries in Jakarta. Their pastries are crafted with simplicity but quality wise, a-DOLL-a-ble!!! The baker herself is authentic French who have much passion for baking and it's clearly shown on her creations. Besides their lovely pastries, you might as well want to try their Croque Monsieur topped with melted cheese and hams!

Whenever I am craving for Italian food, Balboni Ristorante is always on the list, I'd probably visit this more often if Balboni's located somewhere nearer where I live, well technically it's not that far and why do I even talk about this so irrelevant! Anyway, Balboni is a place you should go if you're craving for good Italian food with pretty comfortable venue, it's cozy and earthy during the day but could be romantic during the night with the dim lights. I adore their urge to separate the smoking and non-smoking area as they have outdoor dining space. My personal recommendations for you are their Chicken Devilled Pasta and Stuffed Raviolli.

When I posted my Bistro Baron post few weeks ago I have been receiving few happy emails from readers telling me that Bistro Baron is indeed good and hell yeah it is! It lies on my top three best French restaurants in town and every visit has been very impressive. I still lingered upon their Cote de Beouf and those sides... ZOMG! If you want awesome quality brunch with impressive venue and impeccable service, then Bistro Baron is the one you wouldn't dare to miss! Don't be intimidated with that blue building, because it's honestly very humble.

If you care so much about lighting, pictures and venue to take photos at, then Bistronomy is one of the pioneeers of those beautiful looking dining places and certainly not genetic because when you have money you could build and buy something pretty! I love Bistronomy for their venue because the atmosphere is so vintage, retro and wood material is the majority of the interior resulting this overall homey, earthy and down to earth experience. Recommended menu? Lamb Chops with Honey Mustard Sauce, glad that the lamb was stink free, quite tender and juicy...well at least on my visit.

There are plenty of good places to have brunch at the Kuningan area and one of those many is Bluegrass located at the Epicentrum area. There's something about Bluegrass that is impressive lately and I have been noticing the pretty significant change, pretty different than what they used to be (to be frank they used to be really suck!). I love the ambiance of the resto during the day because they're very day-friendly, plus the lounge tune they're playing is pretty refreshing. Their chicken courses are pretty good and their range of mocktails are quite impressive.

I LOVE Boka Buka for so many reasons, one of it and probably the one which done the most "speaking" is their Escargots! Seriously, the best escargots in town like none surpasses how grandly delicious they are yet. Not to mention, I love the restaurant itself, very homey, calm, almost like a sweet escape from the crowd for few hours. Food here is also amazing, besides their Escargots de Bourgognane, another recommendation could be just... probably everything on their menu and I mean it, I am also a big fan of their Chicken and Cream, it was so lovely, the cream was bold without making me feeling bloated and seasoned just right on the spot, in a way like a "blanket" to the chicken in a good way.

Canteen is the place that people go when they want few things: one, good western food, second: the place to hangout, chit-chat over snacks and drinks, thirdly: when they're in Plaza Indonesia (or Pacific Place) and they're craving for good western food, but I honestly love the outlet in PI way more than PP because the one in PI actually supports daylight plus it's way more huge! I love their Chicken Cordon Bleu here, the chicken was crispy on the coating but all the way tender and juicy to the meat, the cheese filling was quite generous without making me feel like I'm done and enough (cheese world problems).

Colonial is another serious restaurant located in the heart of Kemang area and fits right in when you're looking for a place to eat western fusion food with beautiful venue, top notch food with a sense of Molecular Gastronomy! I love how Colonial really took care of their presentation and service, you might feel like you're actually in a fine-dining restaurant, but the whole impression actually feels a little more relieving: a semi-fine dining restaurant. Their Escargot was also impressive with lots of butter (well sometimes you can't have too much butter) and I also love their desserts, especially the Banana Nougat! Pretty and yum in the same time!

Common Grounds is a coffee shop SLASH the new it place for a proper casual brunch time. The brunch here is amazing and by amazing I mean freaking delicious. I am just sad because they no longer included the fries to the Eggs Benedict (MUST TRY!) when they should! The merrier the better but probably the waste of fries later :P, the 'vacation' doesn't stop there, make sure you try their coffees, sooo good!

Common people was and still is VERY FAMOUS for their Eggs Benedict creation and pretty place, the restaurant rang this rustic, vintage atmosphere but is very puuuryteeeh! It's a casual place that you want to visit with your friends over good Eggs Benedict and refreshing mocktails, I am rooting for the day not only because it's a little more smoke-free, but also it gets dark and mysterious during the night, but some people might like it.

Convivium
Jl. Panglima Polim 9 No. 1
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan
021 - 726 9963
Closed on Mondays
Price Range: IDR 60k - IDR 100k------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Convivium is THAT cake shop that sells one of the most (in)famous Red Velvet in town but some of you probably don't know that it's actually also a restaurant and yes they serve dine-in courses. The venue was not spacious but it's quite comfortable, again with majority of neutral colors and wood materials (wood is the theme of the venues lately). I quite like their Spinach Canneloni but since some people do come here for their Red Velvet, then you might want to try one, it's a little moister than UNION's, a little more cheesy, in a way both are different.

One of the most talked about coffee shops in town at the moment is Crematology! Not only they serve pretty good coffee, they're now releasing some of their dining menus and I was quite blown away with them, especially their Buttermilk Waffle which then, another talk of the town! It was oh-so-good with berry jams imported straight from Scotland, it was actually a success trial when Eliot's mom brought it all the way from Scotland to Jekardah! Must try!

The existence of the international bakery franchise has been invading Jakarta at the moment and for quite some time now, one of it is this lovely Boulangerie by the incredibly talented Eric Kayser! Not only they have gorgeous pastries and eclairs (in my opinion), their savory creations like Croissant Sandwich are surely not to miss! As in for their croissants, even though I was tad disappointed for the lack of texture and consistency, but again, since I probably came late at night, but I managed to gave it a second try and actually tried the fresh made one and went "okay this is mazor yum!", the texture of the croissants and Pain Au Chocolat was just beautiful, flaky outside with separating layers on the inside with overall buttery aroma and flavor.

Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta is still the top destinations for people who love eating grilled food, listening to live musics from their favorite artists and have a bloody good time. I am loving this new Hard Rock Cafe located at SCBD which was in EX, Plaza Indonesia for it's 'closer to earth' ambiance, it's just that I love restaurants that supports daylight and don't tell me you don't because I know you're depending on the lights to take those Instagram shots ;). For the food, I am so obsessed with their Grilled BBQ Short Ribs (above) as the sauce absorbed to the meat and juicy fats. Top notch!

This fine dining restaurant located at the Papilion Kemang has been most expats' destination to have great meal over calmness and wine. Eating here might cost you a little fortune, but trust me, you'll get what you're paying as the food was really nice, me personally loving the HVW Burger, the buns were soft and the patty was so tender and juicy, another plus point simply because it's located at The Papilion Kemang.

My current favorite place to have my personal me-time at the moment! It took only two weeks for my seventh visit and yes I counted! This is my go to place when I want to have a little privacy (probably after this post is no longer a privacy) while surrounded by selection of adorable cakes and oh-so-good Sandwiches! If Boka-Buka has the best escargot in town, then I am awarding Kempi Deli's Eggs Benedict as THE BEST IN TOWN! I love amazing food at its simplest, Kempi Deli's version of Eggs Benedict is not ultra glam in appearance but the flavor does all the talking and justice. Wait until you try it yourself!

One of my reasons I went to Koultoura pretty often is because it's close to my house (I live in the Western area of Jakarta) and I love the ambiance that it offers! The coffee shop is like this hipster madness, well typically coffee shops don't look like that in Jakarta, and I am pretty comfortable to say that when it comes to the venue, Koultoura might be one of the early hipster coffee shops pioneers, still gorgeous tho. Their coffee is getting better and better, it was not fantastic at the beginning and they have pretty good savory menu as well. Put this on your go-to list.

No introduction needed for Kitchenette, so famous already leh so many branches in Jakarta, but if this is your first time reading my blog then I would kindly explain to you. This Ismaya Group's venture might be one of their most successful. I love Kitchenette simply because it's... Kitchenette. To be frank (and I love being honest), Kitchenette is one of Ismaya Group's restaurants that actually serves good food, most just winning on their concept but as for food, not so. I highly recommend their outlet in Central Park as they have the most unique architecture and beautiful interior, plus a little more spacious, do try their South Fried Chicken Waffle or their Peanut Butter Chocolate Lava Cake.

Flashback to my first visit to Liberte, it was not a very satisfying experience but I am so glad that on both my second and third time visiting Liberte, the food has been growing steadily good, the service has been nicer (didn't have any problem with the service on the first place) and the light gets brighter and brighter! Liberte is not a spacious restaurant but the way they designed the interior was just beautiful and clean, typical French brasserie. Do try their Chicken Roulade as they're good with chicken courses.

If Ismaya Group knows how to create a place with strong and fun concept, then Loewy group does the same only in a sense, classier. Loewy group knows how to make a place looks simple, western-like (typical Bistro) but in a sense there's the casual feeling to it, but you know that's a fancy place you're at. Loewy is like the more casual version of UNION without the 'must-dress' tag. Again, I love restaurants with access to daylight and the food in Loewy is also decent: they have nice escargots and great desserts selection. If you feel like having chicken, then their Roasted Baby Chicken should be good for your taste bud.

Luciole is a place that I go if I want a more serious dining whenever I am in Central Park, okay let's be real now, how many place would you say that actually serves 'serious food' in CP months ago? Probably only Kitchenette, Bakerzin and Luciole. Luciole has this lovely crib as the shelter for the brunch lovers, make sure you have the seat close to the window as you're going to feel like you're eating somewhere nice. I recommend their chicken courses here like the one above, so pretty and mouthwatering, again if you care about photos, then it could be 100 likes material LOL.

I was in doubt whether I am going to put MOJO but I certainly a dumbfuq if I don't put MOJO on the list! It's one of my favorite restaurants at the moment, strong candidate to be on the top 10 eatandtreats best of 2014 list and if you've been to MOJO before and you understand the food, you might be agree. I love the fact that MOJO is not spacious, limited space with extra humble atmosphere especially during the day, you just wanna be here, plus they also have minibar section for casual drink time! I highly recommend their Chipotle Glazed Herb Chicken and their fried chickens! Might not be the most photogenic dish but surely is GOOD!

Moovina's food might not be my most favorite, but to be fair, I love the place. Just so you know, I didn't mean 'not my favorite' to be translated as 'horrible', it's just that during my three visits, I just realized that I have never had a satisfying meal in Moovina, but I always have this vision about this place that this is just the perfect pretty place to have brunch or light afternoon tea. For the food, I pretty much like their Moovina Burger and their chocolate desserts are also worth trying.

Nanny's Pavillon is just the mainstream go to places when it comes to quick and proper breakfast, brunch, lunch and even dinner. Something good about Nanny's is the fact that this place is conceptual (even though I feel like they're kinda losing it), but the food was so simple, most actually homemade DIY but one thing that most restaurants lack that Nanny has! The sense of that homey food! Most of the times, eating here might just feel like eating at home. Do order their Black Oreo Caramel Pancake and Fitz Carbonara Pasta.

Another personal favorite when it comes to brunch places is Ninety-Nine Jakarta! It has been my favorite ever since my first visit because the food has been constantly well-executed and perfomed. I've been eating here for numerous times till I forgot and have tried so many of their menus but I do their Fish and Chips, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chicken Rotisserie and a lot more. Venue wise, both outlets (Grand Indonesia and Puri Pesanggrahan) are gorgeous, if you're looking for somewhere indoor with a little sense of 'outdoor' then you might want to go to the one in GI, but if you love direct connection with daylight, go to the Puri one. Eating here might not be cheap, some event went hideous, I mean like 100k for Fried Kwey Tiau? But the quality deserves thumbs up!

Another restaurant with good constant quality control must be Otel Lobby. If they're good, they ARE good, I love how the owner and executive chef *ahem* Maya Aldy managed to get the team connection nicely! Venue wise, Otel Lobby is how hotel lobby translated into restaurants, in a sense spacious, quirky but amazing! The food? Hands down, most of the menus I've tried turned out to be really good. Do order their pastas, Poached Salmon or Smoked Salmon Pizza!

Another coffee shop with good brunch menu has got to be One Fifteenth, not only that, this coffee shop lies on my top 5 best at the moment! Good venue, good coffee, good food and good ambiance. One fifteenth is simply what you want in a coffee shop, expect free coffees you freeloaders!

No way you're completing your list of the best patisseries in Jakarta without filling in this household name, PAUL! As in for quality and the venue, PAUL is the best in the range, some of the prices of the cakes could be hefty but you're seriously getting for what you pay for! Do order their Tartalette Framboise, Mille Feuille or as simple as their fabulous Pain Au Chocolat! If you want something more savory, then you could go for their "Croque Madame" or "Paillason Saimon Fume" (Smoked Salmon).

Pancious
(various outlets)
Price Range: IDR 40k - IDR 200k

I think it's acceptable to crown Pancious as "everyone's favorites", it's like everytime they're opening new branches, those are (or will) never run out of customers, again the same case with Nanny's, I love how Pancious is still holding to its concept even though they're getting a little more western-fusion lately, but they've made it as the place to go when you're craving for awesome pancakes and waffles! I love Pancious' pastas and the Mushroom Pasta has been my regular order ever since the first time! They also have good burgers with soft homemade buns.

Whenever you're craving for so-called Authentic German food, then look no further than Paulaner Brauhaus. Not a lot of places serving German food in Jakarta and Paulaner is on the top of the range and yet they deserve it because the food's really good especially one glaze at that Pork Knuckle and it might stay in your mind for a very long time (victim here!). They're also famous for their great range of bratwursts and they tasted wonderful as well. You might want to have a simple brunch but it's never too early for Paulaner's beer! I don't drink alcohol but Paulaner's beer could do for me, anytime anywhere.

Few months opening and three visits later, I knew that this is currently my favorite buffet restaurant at the moment! Sana-Sini offers amazing range of food from each section and each section represents the regions like Japanese, Chinese, Western and Indonesian. I used to have this skeptical thought about buffet restaurant because normally they have problems here and there (which I found to be normal) but with Sana-Sini, the whole food, literally whole food was really good, or at least okay but not anywhere near bad. The food was just fresh and automatically increases the sense of relieve and believe. Do bookings in advance.

SatooShangri-La Hotel Jakarta, lvl. 1Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 1021 - 2939 9580Opening Hours: 6 AM - 11 PMPrice Range: 300k (lunch) - 400k (dinner)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Satoo is undoubtedly one of the most famous, if not, best buffet restaurant in town. If you call yourself a so-called-true foodie and you don't know what Satoo is then shame on you, you might want to check and update your food encyclopedia. This buffet restaurant which belongs to Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta has been consistent with their food and the urge to be creative. I love the new Satoo Garden as it provides a more relaxing place to chill, the downside, it could be a little moist and humid during Jakarta's hottest. Satoo is still one of my most favorite places to have buffet plus relatively reasonable price for all the treats!

Social House
Grand Indonesia East Mall, 1st fl.
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1
Jakarta Pusat 10310
021 - 2358 1818
Opening Daily: 10 AM - 11 AM
Price Range: IDR 100k - IDR 200k------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I mentioned earlier that Kitchenette is one of Ismaya's best creations and so is this gorgeous place called "Social House". When people ask me where to go to have nice food in Grand Indonesia, well there are a couple but Social House has always been on my recommendation list! Not only that you're getting pretty good food, Social House is also offering you the view of Bundaran HI Jakarta. I honestly have never been to Social House for brunch or lunch, but always for dinners and I love the ambiance here, this place got a huge potential!

I used to have the love-hate relationship with SKYE for some reasons, love because of the venue and the skylights view it offers, hate because the service was incredibly disappointing and I am such a service-craze, but thank goodness the service's now getting better and better and I love those restaurants that could tone down their cockiness for a better continuity. How about the food? Also improving, especially the pasta and the dessert!

Little do people know that The Cook Shop is also a good brunch spot and they also provide space (and on the spot brunch for private events, I have been to The Cook Shop once and I had a good experience on my visit, the venue was homey and warm, the food was not bad, depending on exactly what menu they're serving or you're requesting.

The Goods Diner
Fairgrounds SCBD Lot 14
Jl. Jendral Sudirman SCBD
Jakarta Selatan
021 - 515 2969
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8 AM - 11 PM
Sat - Sun: 8 AM - 2 AM
Price Range: IDR 75k - IDR 150k------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Goods Diner still remains one of the places that hipsters go for dinners, proud to shout, The Goods company is one of those anti-mainstream brand from their design, their content and their ambiance. You might call this obsession, but their creativity is really cool, back to The Goods Diner, this is a place that I usually go for business meeting over snacks Coffee Rubbed Burger and Baileys Milkshake.

UNIONPlaza Senayan Ground Fl. (Inside SOGO), Courtyard (from outside entrance)Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8South Jakarta021 - 5790 5861/62Opening Hours: 10 AM - 10 PMPrice Range: IDR 100k - IDR 300k------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Those so-called Jakarta's keen social people must have known UNION and it's the go-to places to have your favorite brunch, lunch, tea-time and dinner! Venue wise, it's impressive with area surrounded with glass allowing a lot of sun to come in (perfect for photo days) and during the night it gets warm (not literally) and more romantic. Union is also the 'it' place when I am craving for terrific cakes and still is my favorite bakery in town, I mean who can't resist their Red Velvet Cake, everyone who tries it eventually became a fucking convert and also their Chocolate Praline with edible gold layer. Amazement!